From Wolverhampton to California: a journey of opportunity, adventure and lasting love

A journey that began with a train ride from Scotland to Wolverhampton nearly 60 years ago has led to a successful international career, a lifelong marriage and a home on the other side of the world.

When he arrived at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in September 1966 carrying a steamer trunk filled with possessions and ambition, he could never have imagined the impact the institution would have on his future.

Now retired and living in California, the alumnus looks back on a remarkable journey shaped by the Polytechnic’s pioneering approach to education, which combined academic study with extensive industrial experience.

As one of the first students on the newly launched BA Business Studies degree, he joined an innovative programme designed to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace.

“It was a thick sandwich course,” he recalls. “Two terms of academics followed by a term in industry every year. At the time, I didn’t realise just how valuable that would prove to be.”

The course, validated by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), introduced students to subjects including accounting, economics and law before allowing them to specialise in their final year. Central to the programme were compulsory industrial placements, giving students practical experience throughout their studies.

For the young student from Scotland, those placements took place at Hewlett-Packard’s manufacturing facility in South Queensferry, near Edinburgh. Across four placements, he gained experience in accounting, inventory control and data processing, while developing an interest in emerging computer technologies.

By the time he was working with IBM 360 systems, programming and punch-card technology, he had found the passion that would define his professional life.

“I was hooked,” he says. “The whole focus of the course was to produce graduates who were ready for work from day one. The combination of theory and practical experience made all the difference.”

That experience paid off. Before graduating in 1970, Hewlett-Packard had already offered him a permanent role as a computer programmer, launching a career that would span industries, continents and decades.

But it was not only his career that began in Wolverhampton.

While living at Brinsford Lodge, the Polytechnic’s student residence, he embraced student life, playing rugby and attending the popular dances that brought students together from across the campus community.

It was there that he met fellow student Jean Telford (née Isgrove), who was studying for a Diploma in Languages and Secretarial Work, specialising in German.

The couple fell in love, married shortly afterwards and, more than half a century later, are still together.

“I'm happily married to my wife, whom I first met at a Brinsford dance,” he says. “We’ve now been married for 53 years.”

Jean’s passion for languages, first nurtured during her time at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, remains a central part of her life. She continues to read German literature and regularly attends a monthly Kaffeeklatsch with fellow German speakers.

Following graduation, his expertise in computing opened doors around the world. Career opportunities took him across the UK and internationally, working with organisations in sectors ranging from local government and manufacturing to higher education and software development.

Assignments followed in destinations including Dubai, Bermuda, Barbados and the United States.

Then, almost four decades ago, he travelled to California to help establish a sister software company based on systems developed in the UK. What was intended to be a short-term move of just a few years became permanent.

Thirty-eight years later, California remains home.

Looking back, he believes the Polytechnic’s forward-thinking approach gave him both the confidence and experience needed to seize opportunities as they arose.

“You never know how things will work out,” he reflects.

For this Wolverhampton graduate, a train journey to the Black Country in 1966 led not only to a successful global career, but also to a lifelong partnership and a home thousands of miles away. Together, his and Jean’s story highlights the lasting impact of higher education – shaping not only careers, but lives.